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I 



CHEERY AND THE CHUM 


By KATHERINE M. YATES 


WHAT THE PINE TREE HEARD. Boards, 
postpaid, 50 cents. Limp leather, $1.00. 

THE GREY STORY BOOK. Octavo, cloth, 
postpaid, 50 cents. 

ON THE WAY THERE. Octavo, white leather- 
ette, postpaid, 50 cents Limp leather, $1.00. 

AT THE DOOR. Octavo, white leatherette, 
postpaid, 50 cents. Limp leather, $1.00. 

THROUGH THE WOODS. Octavo, green 
leatherette, postpaid, 50 cents. Limp 
leather, $1.00. 

BY THE WAYSIDE. Octavo, white leather- 
ette, postpaid, 50 cents. 

CHEERY AND THE CHUM. Octavo, cloth 
colored illustrations, 60 cents. 

K. M. YATES & COMPANY 

5340 Cornell Avenue 
CHICAGO 





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“ It is liard to paint on a wiggly pig 





CHEERY AND THE 
CHUM 


BY 

KATHERINE M. YATES 

AUTHOR OF 

“WHAT THE PINE TREE HEARD,” “ON THE WAY THERE,” 
“AT THE DOOR,” ETC. 


ILLUSTRATIONS BY 

CLARA POWERS WILSON 



CIIICACxO 

K. M. YATES & COMPANY 
1908 



LIBRARY of OBN^SS 
I wo GoDits Kcceivdfl 

SEP 1 , W08 

ciiirjp 

i . M o ^ 

OLAsa O- XAc. no. 
O 6 3 3 S 

>sePY a. 


Copyright, 1908 
BY 

KATHERINE M. YATES 



\ 


LIST OF CHAPTERS 


I. 

Pink and White and Alive . 

7 

II. 

Mr. M AND Brother . 

iS 

III. 

The Chum 

20 

ly. 

WiNKiE Baby .... 

27 

V. 

What They Did . . 

33 

VI. 

WiNKiE Baby in Disgrace 

40 

VII. 

What Happened to Tiddlewinks . 

45 

VIII. 

The Last Day .... 

54 




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CHAPTER I 


Pink and White and Alive 

HEERY came out upon the 
veranda and stood looking 
about her. There are a 
great many things to see on 
a small girPs first day in the 
country; that is, the first 
day since last summer, which 
was a very long time ago. 

There were two big locust-trees in full 
blossom, just across the gravel path, and 
stretched between them was a gay red-and- 
white-striped hammock. The hammock 
wasnT there last year, and Cheery won- 
dered whether it had grown out of the trees 
during the winter, and also, whether it was 
that, or the white blossoms, or Mammals 
handkerchief that smelled so sweet. She 
pulled the handkerchief out of her guimpe 
and sniffed at it very hard, but the odor 
[ 7 ] 



Cheery and The Chum 


was not so sweet as what seemed to come 
from the direction of the locust-trees, so she 
walked to the head of the steps and looked 
down them. Somehow they did not look 
nearly so long, nor so steep, as they had 
last year, but last year she was only four 
years old, and this year she was five, and 
Uncle Rob had promised her that if she 
would not cry more than once a week, all 
summer, he would let her be six next year. 
And now she hadn’t cried a single time 
for two whole weeks, and if she kept on 
that way, perhaps — only perhaps, for he 
hadn’t said so, he would let her be seven 
next year instead of six — or, if she didn’t 
cry any at all — ^ Cheery’s eyes grew big — 
perhaps next year she would be a beautiful 
young lady, with a long, fluffy, pink dress, 
and her hair done up high with a lovely 
comb. She gathered the curls into her 
hand, and just then a robin in one of 
the locust-trees called: “Cheery, Cheery, 
Cheery!” and she forgot all about the pink 
dress and the lovely comb, and started 
[ 8 ] 


Cheery and The Chum 


down the steps. Half-way down she 
stopped suddenly. 

“I ’most forgot ! ” she exclaimed, sitting 
down on the step and gazing longingly at 
the striped hammock that hung so tempt- 
ingly low only across the gravel path. “I 
just know I could climb into it all by my- 
self,” she said, “and this step is so hard to 
sit on.” 

Aunt Beth peeped out of the front door. 
“Why don’t you go and try the hammock, 
dearie?” she called. 

“I can’t,” said Cheery. 

“Why not?” asked Aunt Beth, coming 
out onto the veranda in her pretty blue 
kimono, with the big morning-glories 
straggling all over it. “I had it swung low 
on purpose so that you could reach it.” 

Cheery shook her head soberly. “No,” 
she said, “I promised The Chum I wouldn’t 
step off the veranda until he came.” 

“But he won’t be here for two hours!” 
exclaimed Aunt Beth. 

“I know it,” said Cheery, bravely, “but 

[ 9 ] 


Cheery and The 


Chum 


he was at my house last week, and when 
he found I ’d get here first and see every- 
thing before he did, he felt so sorry, that I 
promised I wouldn’t step one foot off the 
veranda until he came, so we could go with 
each other.” 

Aunt Beth came half-way down the steps 
and sat down beside the little girl. “ Why 
did you promise him that?” she asked, tak- 
ing Cheery’s little pink fingers and pinching 
them gently, one at a time. “Didn’t you 
know that it would be hard?” 

Cheery nodded her head. “Yes,” she 
said, “but it is just hard on the outside, 
you know.” 

“On the outside? What do you mean?” 
asked Aunt Beth. 

“Why, you see — ” Cheery couldn’t find 
quite the right words, “ — you see — when 
I look at the hammock over there, I want 
to go and climb right into it, but that ’s just 
on the outside — and then, when I think of 
The Chum, and of how glad he ’ll be that I 
waited, and what fun it will be to go with 
[ 10 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


each other, that’s inside, and it ’slots big- 
ger, ’cause it’s the thought love made — and 
so I ’m going to wait.” 

Aunt Beth drew the little girl into her 
arms. “You believe the thoughts love 
makes are the best ones?” she asked. 

“Oh, yes,” said Cheery, earnestly, 
“Mamma always has me ask myself if 
love made me think things, and if love 
didn’t, then she has me nnthink them.” 

“Unthink them? How in the world do 
you do that?” asked Aunt Beth. 

“Why,” said Cheery, “when you think a 
thing, that’s thinking it, isn’t it?” 

“Yes,” admitted Aunt Beth, “I guess it 
is.” 

“Well, then, if you — if you — ” Cheery 
stopped. It seemed very hard to make Aunt 
Beth undei’stand; “why, if you turn it — 
back side forward that’s unthinking it, 
isn’t it? ” 

Aunt Beth laughed. “I suppose it is,” 
she said. 

“ Of course it is,” said Cheery, positively; 

[ 11 ] 


Cheery and The Chum 


“so when I thought I wanted to do what I 
promised I wouldn’t, that was thinking it; 
and then when 1 knew that love didn’t 
make me think it, and knew that I’d 
really rather wait for The Chum, that was 
unthinking it, wasn’t it?” 

Aunt Beth hugged her. “It certainly 
was, dearie,” she said, “and now I’ll show 
you something, while we wait for The Chum. 
It’s white and it’s pink and it’s alive, and 
it’s for you two.” 


C 12 ] 


CHAPTER II 


Mr. M and Brother 

jumped Cheery. She had 
been sitting still for a very 
long time for her. “What 
is it? Where is it?” she 
asked in a breath. 

Aunt Beth’s eyes laughed. 
“You must guess what it 
is,” she said, holding fast to Cheery’s hands. 

“A a rabbit?” gasped Cheery. 

“No.” Aunt Beth shook her head. 

“A — -a guinea pig?” 

“No. One more guess.” 

“A a — Cheery was out of guesses, 

“ — a baby alligator?” 

Aunt Beth burst out laughing. “A pink 
and white baby alligator! ” she cried. “ No, 
no, honey — come and see,” and she led 
Cheery through the long, wide, cool hall, 
by the broad stairway with its white balus- 
[ 13 ] 



Cheery 


and The 


C h u m 


ters, and out onto the vine-covered porch 
at tlie back of the house. 

Cheery looked all about, but could see 
nothing but a queer-looking tin box on a 
wooden shelf. She went up to it, and 
looked closer, but it was only a tin box 
about a foot long and six inches high, and 
on one end, a sort of a wire shed, and, 
fastened to that, a tiny wire Avheel, just 
like the wheel on a squirrel cage, only ever 
and ever so much smaller, not more than 
three inches high. 

Cheery put out her finger and turned the 
wheel very gently, then she looked at Aunt 
Beth. “It isn’t a wee, wee little bit of a 
pink and white squirrel, is it?” she asked, 
with big eyes. 

Aunt Beth unfastened the lid of the box, 
which was on hinges, and tuimed it back, 
and Cheeiy peered in. At first she could 
see nothing but a little heap of white paper 
scraps, but presently she thought she saw 
something pink in the pile of paper, and 
she held her breath and looked closer. 

[ ] 


Ghee r y 


a n d The C h u m 


Yes, it really was pink, and it shone like a 
tiny pink glass bead — it was an eye — it 
surely was an eye, and then she thought 
she saw a slight movement in the pile of 
paper. Oh, what could it be? Cheery 
lifted her hand, “May I — may I touch it. 
Aunt Beth?” she asked eagerly. 

“Aren’t you afraid?” asked Aunt Beth. 

“Afraid!” exclaimed Cheery, “why no! 
If it’s for me and The Chum, Love got it 
for us, and so there isn’t anything to be 
afraid of.” So she put out her finger very 
gently and touched the pile of paper just 
above the pink bead, and, suddenly, out 
jumped a tiny, tiny, wee little white mouse, 
with pink eyes and a pink nose, and a 
long, pink, waving tail. 

“ Oh — oh — oh ! ” exclaimed Cheery, clasp- 
ing her hands together. “Oh, isn’t he 
darling! Look at his teenty, weenty feet, 
and his pink ears and his long white 
whiskers! Oh, isn’t he just a dear?” 
Whereupon Mr. Mouse sat up on his hind 
legs and squeezed his front paws together 

[ 15 ] 


Cheery and The Chum 


and sniffed and wiggled his whiskers, as 
much as to say: — 

^‘How do you do? Who are you? And 
where did you come from? And what made 
you drive me out of my cozy nest?’^ 

“Oh, look at him! — look at him!^^ cried 
Cheeryo “ He ^s shaking hands with himself 
just the way Uncle Rob does when he sees 
me and can’t reach me I Is n’t he the dear- 
est thing you ever saw?” 

Mr. Mouse now walked to the side of the 
cage, and standing up tall and thin on his 
hind legs, with his forepaws as high on the 
side of the box as he could reach, sniffed 
and sniffed in a most inquiring manner. 

Aunt Beth broke off a tiny bit of cheese 
and handed it to Cheery, but just as she 
reached it down toward the eager little 
mouse, there suddenly came a tremendous 
scrambling in the pile of paper, which flew 
in every direction, and out popped another 
mouse; not quite so large, but, as Cheery 
said, twice as lively, as the first ; and before 
she could jerk her hand away, he had 
[ 16 ] 


Cheery 


a n d The C li u m 


jumped and seized the bit of cheese, and in 
a moment was over in one corner of the 
box, holding it up in his paws and nibbling 
it greedily, meanwhile keeping an eye on 
his brother. 

Cheery burst out laughing. ‘‘Oh, you 
funny, funny fellow!^' she cried. “Didn’t 
he make me jump, though, when he popped 
out that way ? And was n’t the other mousie 
surprised? He didn’t know what became 
of it. Look! He’s sitting up there and 
smelling of his paws now, as if he thought 
he’d let it get away from him somehow. 

^Please give me another piece for him.” 

“Suppose we wait and see what he wdll 
do,” said Aunt Beth. 

Presently Mr. Mouse stopped smelling of 
his little pink lingers, and stretched him- 
self up tall and thin again, reaching up the 
side of the box and sniffing eagerly; and 
then, as there was no more cheese in sight, 
he dropped upon all four feet once more; 
but just then he suddenly caught a whiff 
of the cheese over in the corner, and he 

[ n ] 


Cheery 


and The 


C h u m 


turned and sat up on liis hind legs, and 
stared at his contented brother, as much as 
to say: “Now, where on earth did you 
get that, when I thought tliat / was the 
one that had it? and where have I been 
all this time, anyway ? ” 

His brother did n’t pay any attention, so 
Mr. Mouse dropped again to his four feet, 
and, with his eyes on the cheese, began to 
creep, slowly and softly, across the cage. 
The other made no movement beyond the 
rapid working of jaws and the turning of 
the cheese in his paws so that he could 
nibble it nice and even, but he kept his 
eye on Mr. Mouse all the time. 

When the first mouse had nearly reached 
his brother. Cheery clasped her hands to- 
gether tightly, for she was perfectly sure, 
that any second he would make a sudden 
pounce and seize the cheese; but no, he 
kept on gently, until he was right in front 
of the eater, and then he raised up on his 
hind legs and began to nibble on the other 
side of the luncheon, holding his paws 
[ 18 ] 


Cheery and The Chum 


straight down in front of him like a kanga- 
roo, and leaning forward so as to reach it 
without treading on his brother's toes; and 
the brother didn’t make the least objection, 
but kept on nibbling and looking funny 
out of his round, pink eyes. 

“Oh! Oh!” cried Cheery, “see how good 
they are to each other. His brother just 
did it for a joke, I know he did. He didn’t 
want it all himself, any of the time, and 
he’s just laughing out of the corner of his 
eye now, because he had so much fun. He 
wasn’t really selfish or greedy after all, 
was he?” 


[ 19 ] 


CHAPTER III 


The Chum 



0 you 
them 
Aunt 


want to take one of 
in your liand?^^ asked 
Beth, when the mice 
bit of 


had finished 

the 

cheese. 



“ Oh, 

mav 

I? 

Cheery ; 

“I’d 

love 


cried 


to! 


So Aunt Beth reached into the box and 
softly put her hand over the first Mr. 
Mouse and lifted him out and put him into 
Cheery^s eager palm. 

Cheery laid her other hand over him so 
that just his little pink nose could poke 
out between her thumbs, and then she held 
her hands up to peep at him. Oh, look 1 
she cried ; “ he ^s in church ! 

‘‘In church? What do you mean?’’ 
asked Aunt Beth. 

“M’^hy, don’t you know — 

[ 20 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


‘ Here ’s the church, 

And here’s the steeple; 

Open the doors, 

And here ’s all the people ’ ” — 
and she held out her clasped hands, with 
her forefingers pointed together for the 
“steeple,” and Mr. Mouse poking his nose 
out from between the front doors. 

Aunt Beth touched the tiny pink steeple 
and the little gold ring on Cheery’s finger. 
“It’s a pretty pink and gold church, isn’t 
it? ” she said. “ Not a bit gloomy and som- 
bre. No wonder he’s so contented there.” 

“ Our church is white and gold inside,” 
said Cheery, “and it’s so bright and cheer- 
ful! — why, it just seems as if the sunshine 
stays in there all the time and makes every- 
body all warm and clean. I suppose it is 
love that makes it seem that way — but 
somehow love and sunshine always seem a 
good deal alike to me, don’t they to you?” 

In her earnestness Cheery opened her 
hands a little wider than she knew, and 
suddenly out popped Mr. Mouse, scratching 
[ 21 ] 


Cheery and The 


C h it m 


and scrambling along her wrist and up in- 
side of her full white sleeve. 

‘‘Oh, oh!” cried Cheery. “Oh, inousie, 
mousie, your claws are sharp ! Oh, Aunt 
Beth, how will we ever, ever get him out? 
He’s gone clear up to my shoulder! ” 

“Never mind, dearie,” said Aunt Beth; 
“don’t be frightened. I’ll attend to him.” 

“Oh, I’m not frightened,” said Cheery. 
“He won’t hurt me any worse there, than 
as if he were in my hand ; but I don ’t see 
how we are going to get him out.” 

“I’ll show you,” said Aunt Beth, “if you 
will point to just exactly where he is, with- 
out touching him. He is so white that I 
can’t see him through your white waist.” 

Cheery put her linger gently up to the 
back of her arm, and Aunt Beth softly laid 
her hand over the spot and held Mr. Mouse 
very tenderly, while she unfastened Cheery’s 
waist and kirned it back until she could 
reach the runaway and draw him from his 
hiding place. 

Cheery laughed and shook her linger 

[ 22 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


at him as Aunt Beth placed him in his 
box. “Oh, Mr. Mouse, Mr. Mouse,^^ she 
said, “you are bad^ — you ran away from 
church ! 

“Perhaps the church wasn’t big enough 
for him,” said Aunt Beth. 

“I guess it was a pretty tight fit,” said 
Cheery. 

“The train’s whistled! The train’s 
whistled!” called Uncle Rob from the 
front door, “and The Chum will be here in 
twenty minutes.” 

Cheery dropped the lid of the box and 
ran through the hall and Uncle Rob caught 
her and tossed her up onto the railing of 
the veranda, where she stood on tiptoe 
craning her neck and trying to see around 
the bend in the road below the hill. “ Oh, 
dear! I can’t see twenty minutes away,” 
she cried, “and waiting takes so long! ” 

“It surely does,” said Uncle Rob, and 
just then Mr. Cann came up the steps. 
Mr. Cann was the man who owned the farm 
and all the chickens and pigs and geese. 

[ 23 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


“ Hello, Cheery-girl ! ” he exclaimed, 
catching both of her hands in one of his 
big ones, “where’s The Chum?” 

“He’s coming, he’s coming!” laughed 
Cheery, dancing so that Uncle Eob could 
scarcely hold her on the railing. “He’s 
almost here. The carriage must be going 
by the wild-cherry tree right now, and it 
will be around the bend in just a minute. 
Oh, I’m so glad! I’m so glad!” 

“Well, I can see why they call you 
‘Cheery,’ all right,” said the farmer, laugh- 
ing; “but what started them to doing 
it?” 

“ Oh, my surely name is Charlotte,” said 
Cheery, her eyes still upon the bend in the 
road; “but when I was little, I used to cry 
ever so much; I can’t remember it, but 
Mamma says I did ; and so, when I would 
be crying. Mamma would say, ‘ Come, come, 
be cheery, be cheery ! ’ and then by and by 
I got so that when I wanted to cry I’d 
think about it and I’d say, ‘Mamma, I’m 
cheery, truly I’m cheery,’ even while I was 
[ 24 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


crying, and so, because I said, ‘Pm cheery,^ 

they got to calling me that, and 

“And you grew to fit it,^^ said Uncle Rob. 
“Well, I guess it would be pretty hard to 
be sour or cross, with every one saying and 
thinking such a happy word whenever they 
spoke to you or thought of you.^’ 

And just then the carriage did come 
around the bend, and Cheery almost 
screamed in her excitement when she saw 
the small figure standing up on the front 
seat and wildly waving a handkerchief. 
“It^s The Chum! It^s The Chum I she 
cried over and over again. “ Help me down. 
Uncle Rob, help me down, quick 

The hill never did seem so long before, 
nor did the horses ever before climb so 
slowly, and Cheery stood on the lowest step 
and nearly tumbled off, in her eagerness. 

“The Chum is my cousin,^^ she explained 
to Mr. Cann, between the frantic wavings 
of her handkerchief. “He used to be only 
‘Cousin Robbie^; but just anybody can be 
cousins, so we decided for him to be my 
[ 25 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


chum instead, and now everybody calls 
him ‘The Chum,^ the same as I do. Oh, 
he^s getting out of the carriage at the gate 
and I canT step olf the step. Chum, oh. 
Chum, can you hear? It^s pink and it^s 
white and it^s alive, and I didn^t put one 
single foot off the veranda, and it^s mice 
and it got up my sleeve, and Aunt Beth 
says there’s some little turkeys and — oh, 
you pulled me off the step your own 
self; but I don’t care, ’cause you’re here 
now and it’s all right, and let’s go and see 
the pigs right off, quick ! Come on, hurry ! ” 


[ 26 ] 


CHAPTER IV 


Winkie Baby 



©HE sun had scarcely got his 
I nightcap oflf, the next morn- 
ing, before Cheery and The 
) Chum popped out of the hall 
door and crowded their small 
J heads together over the 
mouse-cage. 


'‘We ought to name them,^^ said Cheery. 

"Why, I thought they were named,^^ said 
The Chum. "Don’t you like the names 
you called them yesterday?” 

"What did I call them?” asked Cheery 
in surprise. 

"You called them Mr. Mouse and Brother, 
when you told me about the cheese, did n’t 
you?” 

"Did I?” exclaimed Cheery. "I didn’t 
notice, — I just had to call them something, 
so as to tell you about it; but those make 


[ 27 ] 


Cheery and The Chum 


good names, don’t they? Come, Brother, 
run into your wheel now and turn it for 
us as fast as ever you can,” and with her 
finger she chased the little white fellow 
about the cage and at last through the 
opening and into the wire wheel ; and in a 
moment the wheel was spinning around and 
around as fast as the little pink feet could 
make it fly. 

Just then Mamma and Aunt Beth came 
out and sat down on the steps in the sun- 
shine, to wait until breakfast was ready; 
and Cheery and The Chum sat on the step 
below them to listen to Aunt Beth telling 
about the ducks and the new duck-pond; 
when around the corner of the house came 
Mr. Cann, carrying, very carefully, some- 
thing wrapped up in a red bandanna hand- 
kerchief. He came straight to Cheery, and 
stopping in front of her, held out the 
bundle. “I’ve got something for you,” he 
said ; and leaning over, he unrolled into her 
lap the littlest, tiniest white pig that any- 
body ever saw. 


[ 28 ] 



“We ought to name them,” said Cheery. 



Cheery 


and The C h it, m 


“Oh, oh, oh!” cried Cheery. “Look at 
the darling little winkie baby! Isn’t he 
the meentiest, weentiest little thing that 
ever was?” 

Mamina and Aunt Beth bent over. 
“Goodness!” said Aunt Beth, “I didn’t 
know a pig could be so little! Why he 
isn’t bigger than a baby kitten, — look here 
— ” and she took from the step beside her, 
a one-pound baking-powder can which The 
Chum had brought to go with his fishing 
outfit; and lifting the little pig gently in 
her hands, she let him down, bodily, into 
the can. In he went all over, tail, nose 
and all, and Cheery put her hand over the 
top of the can, to show that he was all in. 

The Chum was standing anxiously on first 
one foot and then the other. “ Are you — ” 
he began, and then he stopped and rubbed 
his fore-finger hard on the railing of the 
porch. 

“What is it, dear?” asked Aunt Beth, 
looking up from piggy. 

“Are you — ^was you — was you going to 
[ 29 ] 


Cheery 


and The 


C h u rn 


keep him in that? ’Cause — ’cause I’ve 
got a handkerchief box up stairs that he 
can have just as well as not.” 

“Would it fit him better than this?” 
asked Aunt Beth. 

“Well, — I — I was going fishing this 
afternoon, an’ — ” Aunt Beth laughed and 
tipped the little pig gently into Cheery’s 
lap. “No, honey,” she said, “we don’t 
want to keep him in that. 1 just put him 
in to show how tiny he really is. Here ’s 
your can.” 

“An’ don’t you want the handkerchief 
box?” 

“No, dear.” 

“But I’d rather you’d have it. I’d 
rather you ’d have it as — as not, ’cause — 
’cause I — I — . Was I being selfish. Aunt 
Beth ? ” and The Chum’s lip began to quiver. 

“No, no, dearie!” said Aunt Beth. “Of 
course you weren’t selfish. The can was 
yours, and you offered something else just 
as good ; but the little pig is going back to 
the pen with the other pigs. Mr. Cann 
only brought it to show to us.” • 

[ 30 ] 


Cheery 


and The C h n m 


But Mr. Cann shook his head. ‘‘No/’ 
he said, “it’s no use to put it back with 
the others, — it’s too little. Why, it’s 
nearly three weeks old now, and only that 
big! It hasn’t any chance. It’s too little 
to live.” 

Mamma reached over and took the little 
pig into her lap. “May we have it?” she 
asked. 

“Of course you may,” said Mr. Cann. 
“ It ’s no good to me, and I thought it might 
amuse Cheery for a day or two.” 

“Thank you ever so much, Mr. Cann,” 
said Cheery, gravely ; and then, as he turned 
away, she crept close to Mamma and laid 
her hand on the tiny piggy. “Eeally wont 
it live. Mamma?” she asked. 

Mamma smiled down into her eyes. 
“Can’t you answer that question for your- 
self, dearie?” she asked. 

Cheery’s face brightened. “Of course it 
will,” she said, the dimples coming at the 
corners of her mouth again, “and we know 
why, don’t we? Shall I go and get a 
basket or something, for it to stay in?” 

[ 31 ] 


Cheery and The (J h u m 


“Yes, please do,” said Mamina. “Get 
your little Indian basket and put some cot- 
ton in it, and we ’ll have the winkie baby 
comfortable right away.” 

Cheery laughed. “ That ’s what I called 
him, is’nt it!” she said. “I don’t know 
why I did it, only he just looked that way.” 

When Cheery returned with the basket. 
Aunt Beth was coming out of the dining- 
room with a little butter-plate upon which 
was just one teaspoonful of oatmeal and 
cream. She held it in front of the winkie 
baby’s nose, and suddenly he seemed to 
remember that he was a pig, and though 
he was so tiny that the meal was a very 
large one for him, yet no great big pig at a 
great big trough, ever got his fore-feet into 
his breakfast more eagerly, or grunted finer 
grunts — for his size. When he had fin- 
ished, Mamma wrapped him in a bit of 
cloth and put him on the cotton-wool in the 
basket and set the basket in the sunshine, 
and she and Cheery each gave him a little 
loving pat and a little loving thought, as 
they turned to answer the breakfast bell. 

C 32 ] 


CHAPTER V 


What They Did 

WISH that I could tell you 
all of the things that Cheery 
and The Chum did during 
those sunshiny summer days 
on the farm. 

They went fishing in the 
little creek behind the barn ; 
they fed the ducks, there were eight new 
ones since last year, all white with funny 
top-knots, and it was great fun to throw 
corn into the duck-pond and see them dive 
for the kernels, catching them before they 
reached the bottom of the pond. And by 
and by there were fourteen little yellow 
ducklings. Cheery and The Chum named 
them all, but they never could remember 
which was which. Then, too, they played 
with the calves, there were three of them, 
all black and white spotted, and the children 
[ 33 ] 



Cheery 


a n d T h e 


C h u m 


named the white faced one Daisy, and 
the one that was nearly all black, Topsey, 
and the one with one white ear and one 
black ear, was Goody Two Ears. “It’s 
just as good a name as Goody Two Shoes,” 
protested Cheery, stoutly, when they 
laughed at the name; “and she’s got two 
ears, hasn’t she?” which certainly settled 
the matter. 

Mr. Cann put up a great big swing in 
the barn. It was fastened to a beam very 
high up, so that when the two wide doors 
at the back of the barn were thrown open, 
the children could swing away out through 
the doorway and far oyer the creek; and 
they could see the men at Avork in the 
hay, beyond the potato and corn fields. 

The corn field was a delight; for, grow- 
ing all among the corn, were corn-flowers 
such as grow in city people’s gardens and 
are called bachelor’s buttons; and they 
were blue — all shades of blue — and pink 
and purple and white, and they had splen- 
didly long stems. Cheery always picked 
[ 34 ] 




“Where the squirrels were so tame 



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Cheery 


and The Chum 


the blue ones only; but The Chum gathered 
every color that he could find. And some- 
times they would get a needle and strong 
thread, and string the blossoms into long 
chains to wear around their necks. 

And in the corn field there were morning 
glories, too, pink and purple and white, 
like the corn-fiowers, and the vines wound 
around and around, up the stalks, tossing 
out curly tendrils which caught Cheery’s 
hair, and tapped their faces more gently 
than did the rustling corn blades. And 
in one end of the field there were pumpkin 
vines with great yellow blossoms, shaped 
like thei morning glory blossoms, and there 
were always dusty bees buzzing in and out 
of them. 

And then, over across the lane, was the 
maple grove; beautiful woods where they 
might play all they chose, and make be- 
lieve that they were Indians or gypsies ; 
and where the squirrels were so tame that 
they would come and take nuts from their 
fingers. And away beyond the mill was the 
[ 35 ] 


C h e 


tji d The Chum 


tamarack swamp. Cheery 
and The Chum might not go 
there alone ; but often Mam- 
ma or Aunt Beth or Uncle 
Rob would take them for 
an afternoon, and then 
- wintergreens and 
partridge 
berries, 


and wonderful, tall ferns, as 
tall as the children, and great 
mossy logs to walk on, and 
Uncle Rob would bend down 
a sapling, so that they might 
swing; and once they found 
some curious plants that 
Aunt Beth said were Indian 
pipes, queer, pale flowers 
with leaves and stem and 
blossom all pure white. 
Cheery thought them lovely; 
but she loved her dear 
[ 36 ] 


W 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


corn-flowers the best of all; and, somehow, 
after a visit to the wonderful tamarack 
swamp, the corn field seemed delightfully 
warm and cozy, and the rustle of the 
long corn blades, seemed happier than the 
sighing of the evergreen branches. 

There was a splendid pile of lumber over 
by the granary, and they had great times 
climbing over it and making houses of the 
boards; and Mr. Cann made them a per- 
fectly fine see-saw; and, too, there was a 


‘‘crow’s nest” 
pie trees. 

One day, in ex- 



of them a 
and there were 
horses. The 
denly saw the 
For once he 
word; but when 


one of the ap- 

ploring the 
found there 
stored, 
two sad- 
dles, one 
side-saddle, 
also two saw- 
Chum sud- 
possibilities. 
did n’t say a 
Cheery went to 


[ 37 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


feed Winkie Baby, he coaxed Uncle Rob out 
to the granary; and when Cheery returned, 
there were the two saddles fastened upon 
the two saw-horses; and from that time 
on, the children went riding every day, 
and had the most glorious canters up 
hill and down dale, without once going 
outside of the granary door. Uncle Rob 
made them fine willow switches with whis- 
tles in the ends; but they never whipped 
their ponies hard enough to hurt — even 
the switches. 

On wet days they played on the veranda 
with the mice and Winkie Baby and a 
wonderful toy village with wooden houses 
at least four inches high, and trees that 
were green and curly and shaped like a 
Christmas tree. Sometimes, when the vil- 
lage was all set up, with the mouse-cage 
out on the ‘‘ common for a menagerie, 
Winkie Baby, fat and happy and grown 
to the size of a pussy-cat, would stroll 
down the principal street, upsetting trees 
and houses in every direction; and then 
[ 38 ] 


Cheery 


a n d The C h ii m 


they would chase him all about the 
veranda, laughing and scrambling, while 
he grunted and squealed and dodged be- 
tween their feet until they were as much 
upset as the village. 


[ 39 ] 


CHAPTER VI 


Winkie Baby in Disgrace 

?BpnMr''^INKIE BABY had grown very 
\l\ /^\ lllj fast after the first day or 
llWInlU// two of tender care, and he 
wm 1/|/ \v//y running about 

under everybody’s feet. He 
®6®uied to love Cheery best, 
jialmiJUlOii and wherever she went, he 
trotted or galloped after her, giving little 
satisfied grunts and poking his nose against 
her heels. When she was out of sight, he 
wandered about forlornly; but as soon as 
her voice was heard, some one would 
call : — “ Oh, Cheery, here comes the Baby ! ” 
and sure enough, Winkie Baby would come 
scampering toward her, emitting little grunts 
and squeals of delight. This was all very 
w’ell while Winkie Baby was so tiny; but 
when he had grown to be about as big as 
a fox terrier, he began to be troublesome. 

[ 40 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


He was always under everybody’s feet, or 
eating the meal from the chicken’s pans, 
or the eggs from the lower nests in the 
chicken house ; — and so, one day, he found 
himself shut outside of the garden gate. 

At first he rather liked it, and ran down 
the lane, poking his nose into everything, 
and having a fine time; but by and by he 
grew lonesome and came back to the gate; 
and there he stood, patiently, until Uncle 
Kob came home, and then, as soon as the 
gate was opened, he dodged in. He didn’t 
wait, politely, for Uncle Rob to go in first, 
he just went in under Uncle Rob’s feet, 
and Uncle Rob sat down on the ground and 
watched him go ! Then Uncle Rob and the 
children spent fifteen minutes in chasing 
him out again. Half an hour later, when 
Mr. Gann tried to come in, the same thing 
happened; and when Mamma and Aunt 
Beth came home. Cheery and The Chum 
had to climb over the fence into the lane 
and sit on him, so that they could get 
through the gate. 

[ 41 ] 


Cheery 


and The 


Chum 


The next day Winkie Baby was nowhere 
in sight, nor the next, and Cheery and Tlie 
Chum missed him so dreadfully, although 
they knew that he could n^t be lost, that 
Mrs. Cann at last said that she would help 
them to find him. 

Now, Mrs. Cann had grown to be very 
fond indeed of Winkie Baby, in spite of 
his troublesome ways; for he was such a 
pretty, clean, white piggy; and she used to 
pet him almost as much as the children 
did. Perhaps Mr. Cann had told her where 
to look for him; for she led the children 
straight to the pig-pen, out back of the 
barn. Cheery and The Chum climbed up 
on the fence and Mrs. Cann peered over it ; 
but look as they would, they could see 
never a sign of the pink and white Winkie 
Baby. 

‘‘Why, I was sure he was here!’^ said 
Mrs. Cann. 

“But he isn^t,^^ said Cheery. 

“No, he isn’t,^^ echoed The Chum. 

And just then Mr. Cann came around 

C 42 ] 


Cheery 


a 71 d The Chum 


the corner of the barn. I thoiiglit you 
said Winkie Baby was here/^ called Mrs. 
Cann. 

‘■He is/’ said her husband, coming 
nearer. 

“I can’t see him,” said Mrs. Cann, look- 
ing again. 

“And I can’t,” said Cheery. 

“An’ I can’t,” echoed The Chum. 

Mr. Cann laughed, and pointed to a 
dreadful, black mud-puddle, right in the 
middle of the pen. 

Mrs. Cann shrank back. “That — that 
isn’t Winkie Baby!” she cried, pointing to 
a small pig, wallowing and rooting in the 
very deepest of the mud. 

“That’s just who it is,” said Mr. Cann, 
laughing again. 

Mrs. Cann gasped. “That — that — my 
pretty, clean, pink and white Winkie Baby? 
Well you just please climb right in there 
and bring him out. I won’t have him 
look like that! ” 

Mr. Cann protested, and the children 
[ 43 ] 


Cheery 


and The C h u ni 


stared with open mouths at the disgrace- 
fully dirty, happy little pig; but Mrs. Caiin 
was in earnest, and finally her husband 
climbed into the pen and fished the baby 
out of the puddle, in spite of his grunts 
and squeals, wiped him off with a wisp of 
hay and turned him loose to follow his 
rescuers back to the farm house. Once 
there, Winkie Baby was held under the 
pump, in spite of his struggles and wails, 
until he was himself again, and then — he 
made a wild rush for the nearest chicken 
pan. 


[ 44 ] 


CHAPTER VII 


Wlmt Happened to Tiddledewinks 



jUNT BETH had been out in 
the field gathering blue corn- 
flowers, and she came in 
through the shed-kitchen 
with a big bunch of them in 
her hands. As she opened 
the shed door, she thought 
that she heard a sound of skurrying, and 
stopped to peer about; but there was 
nothing in sight excepting a big tub of 
soap-suds and a big tub of bluing-water. 
Mrs. Cann was in the yard hanging out the 
clothes. “She splashes a good deal of 
water when she washes,” thought Aunt 
Beth, as she paused at the kitchen table 
to arrange the flowers in a tall glass. Then 
she passed into the dining-room. 

As she opened the door, she heard a 
sudden movement, and a faint meow from 
[ 45 ] 


Cheery 


a n cl The C h u m 


Tiddledewinks. Tiddledewinks was the 
white, half-grown kitten which had strayed 
to the farm, and which Cheeiy and The 
Chum had pleaded to be allowed to keep. 
I said that she was white, — I meant that 
she ought to have been white ; but she had 
not been trained to the art of cleanliness, 
and as a consequence, she , was just about 
the dirtiest pussy that ever you saw. 

Today, as Aunt Beth heard her faint 
meow, she turned quickly; for Tiddlede- 
winks was not allowed in the dining-room. 

But instead of Tidd, her glance fell upon 
Cheery standing almost behind the door, 
her eyes very big and her lips pressed 
tightly together and both hands behind hei’. 
If ever anybody looked guilty. Cheery did. . 

Seeing Cheery, Aunt Beth looked about 
for The Chum ; for where Cheery was, there 
must always be The Chum, also. He stood 
on the other side of the table, only his head 
and shoulders showing above it. His eyes 
were big, too; but he wasn’t looking at 
Aunt Beth,— only at Cheery. 

[ 46 ] 


Cheery 


a n d The C li u m 


‘‘What is the matter? said Aunt Beth, 
looking from one to the other. 

There was no answer. 

Again she asked, more soberly, “What 
is the matter?^’ 

Cheery’s lips remained tightly closed; 
but The Chum began to open and shut his 
mouth quite rapidly. “There — there — ” 
he commenced, hurriedly, “ — there isn’t 
anything the matter wiv us; — but jus’ you 
look at poor Tiddlede winks ! ” 

Aunt Beth turned her eyes in the direc- 
tion that his plump fore-finger pointed, 
and then her mouth opened and her chin 
dropped, and her eyes grew as big as the 
children’s. 

“ Tiddledewinks ! ” she gasped. “Child- 
ren, what — ” 

Cheery turned her eyes in the direction 
of the kitten, but her lips stayed pressed 
tightly together. 

“Cheery,” said Aunt Beth, “what have 
you been doing?” 

No answer. 


[ 47 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


‘‘Chum, tell me about it/^ 

The Chum shook his head. “Cheery has 
to tell,” he said. “I can't, 'cause it was 
Cheery — '' he suddenly stopped and bit 
his lip. 

“Cheery?” 

No answer. 

“Cheery, are you willing The Chum 
should tell?” 

Still no answer. 

“Cheery, one of you must tell, and it 
would be better for you to.” 

No answer. 

Aunt Beth came closer. “Cheery, are 
you willing The Chum should tell me?” 

Cheery pressed her lips a little tighter 
for a moment, then she nodded her head 
solemnly, blinking her eyes very fast. 

“Now, Chum?” said Aunt Beth. 

The Chum had come from behind the 
table, and his big eyes were turned awe- 
somely toward the chair where lay Tiddle- 
de winks. “Well,” he said, swallowing 

hard, “you see, — she — :.she suds-ed her in 
[ 48 ] 



' — An’ she blued her in the blue water — ’ 








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Cheery 


and The Chum 


the suds-water, an’ she blued her in the 
blue-water, an’ — an’ she wringed her an’ 
she wringed her, an’ she wanted to hang 
her up on the clothes-bars an’ — an’ the 
cothes-pins wouldn’t stick!” 

Aunt Beth looked at the cat and looked 
at the culprits, and pressed her lips more 
tightly together than even Cheery’s. 

“How did she wring her?” she asked, 
presently, her voice not very steady. Tiddle 
was always a remarkably thin cat, and she 
looked particularly thin just now. 

“She — she Avanted me to turn the 
wringer for her,” said The Chum; “but I 
wouldn’t, ’cause it looked so tight, an’ she 
couldn’t get only the tip of Tiddle’s tail in, 
her own self; an’ so she had to jus’ — jus’ 
wring her.” 

“But how did she do it?” 

“Why, jus’ this way,” said The Chum, 
going through the motions of wringing a 
wet towel; “but she wouldn’t hold still, 
an’ — ” 

But Aunt Beth gave one look at Tidd, 
[ 49 ] 


C li e e r y 


and The G li n m 


and then turned and went out of the room 
very suddenly. 

Tlie two culprits stood and stared at each 
other for a moment, and then Cheery threw 
herself on the floor and burst into tears. 
‘‘Oh, dear!^^ she sobbed, “I don’t care if 
it makes me only four again, my next 
birthday, IVe got to cry, — I’ve just got 
to ! I ’ve gone and spoiled ])oor Tidd, and 
Aunt Beth is angry, and — and you think 
I’m dreadful — ” 

But The Chum was down on his knees 
beside her in a moment. “I don’t, — I 
don’t, any such thing!” he cried. “You 
didn’t know it was going to spoil her! You 
jus’ wanted to make her clean, ’cause she 
got the things in the bureau-drawer dirty 
yesterday, when you put her in there, 
an’ — ” 

But just then Mamma came into the 
dining-room. She looked very sober, and 
her eyes seemed a little red, almost as if 
she, herself, had been crying. She only 
glanced at Tidd, and then turned her eyes 
[ 50 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


quickly away, and came and sat down be- 
side Cheery and drew her into her arms, 
where the little girl lay sobbing for several 
minutes. By and by Mamma brushed the 
hair back from the damp little face, and 
looked lovingly into the wet eyes. “ Come, 
come, be Cheery,” she said. 

Cheery smiled a very moist smile, and 
Mamma patted her shoulder, softly. “Do 
you want to toll Mamma about it?” she 
asked. 

“Ye — yes,” said Cheery, chokily; and 
then she told the whole story, while The 
Chum stood by, a sympathetic listener. 

When she had finished. Mamma said, 
gently; “You meant all right, dearie; but 
don’t you see, now, that there must have 
been something wrong about it, some- 
where?” 

“ Yes, Mamma.” 

“Do you know where?” 

“No, Mamma.” 

“ Did n’t you feel the least bit guilty any 
time while you were doing it?” 

C 51 ] 


Cheery and The Chum 


“Yes, when I saw how dreadful Tidd 
looked.” 

“But before that, didn’t you feel a little 
afraid that you might not be doing quite 
right? ” 

Cheery thought for a moment. “Yes, 
Mamma,” she said, at last; “I was afraid 
Mrs. Cann would come in before I got 
through, and make me stop; so I guess I 
knew it was wrong to use her tubs and her 
wringer and things, without asking. 

“That was it, dearie,” said Mamma. 
“It wasn’t a love-thought that made you 
keep on, after you thought of that, was 
it?” 

“No, Mamma.” 

“Well, now what do you think we would 
better do about it?” 

‘Why, I must be sure that I won’t for- 
get the love-thought again.” 

“And then?” 

“I — I must tell Mrs. Cann I’m sorry, 
and — ” 

But just then Mrs. Cann and Aunt Beth 
[ 52 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


came into the room, and Cheery sat up and 
brushed away her tears. 

“Mrs. Cann,” she said, in a very shaky 
voice; “I’m sorry that I — that I la — 
laundered Tidd in your tubs and — and — ” 

But here The Chum broke in, eagerly, 
noticing that the usual smile was absent 
from Mrs. Cann’s good natured face, and 
fearing that she was going to be cross to 
Cheery. “We- — we’re awful sorry, Mrs. 
Cann, if we mussed your tubs, honest, we 
are; but — but — ” pointing at the little 
cat; “ — but Tidd didn’t like it a lot worse 
than you didn’t — an — ’ she isn’t saying 
a word! ” 


[ 53 ] 


CHAPTER Ylll 


The Lad Day 



RS. CANN was dyeing carpet- 
rags, out in the shed-kitchen ; 
and Cheery and The Chum 
were looking on, fascinated 
by the beautiful shades of 
red, blue and yellow which 
came out of those wonder- 


ful dye-pots. At last she had finished, and 
all of the rags were hung in brilliant 
festoons along the clothes line. Then 
she began to clear up. “I mixed too much 
of the color this time,” she said, as she 
lifted a pail of red liquid, and bent to 
pour it into a pail of blue, so as to carry 
the whole to the drain at once. 

“Oh, wait a minute! ” cried Cheery, eager- 
ly. “Please, mayn’t we have what is left? 
Aunt Beth gave me some silk pieces this 
morning, and I’d just love to dye them.” 


[ 54 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


Mrs. Cann looked doubtfully at the 
children. “You’d get it all” on your 
clothes,” she said. 

“Oh, that’s all right,” said Cheery. 
“We’re going away tomorrow, you know, 
and Mamma has packed everything but 
our traveling clothes and these faded 
things that she isn’t going to take along at 
all. She said we looked like two little 
ragged-robins this morning, when she 
dressed us; — so it won’t do any harm at 
all if we get these spotted.” 

“Well,” said Mrs. Cann, setting down 
the pail, “you may have it if you choose; 
but you must take it out to the barn to do 
your dyeing, so as not to muss things 
around here. I ’ll put it into some little 
pails that you can carry.” 

And so, in a few minutes. Cheery and 
The Chum were seated just inside of the 
wide back door of the barn, while the silk 
pieces and their fingers Avere turning red 
and blue and yellow, and Winkie Baby 
stood by and watched, and tried to poke 
his funny nose into the dye-pails. 

[ 55 ] 


Cheery and The 


C h u m 


By and by, when all of the pieces were 
dipped and hung up to dry, there still re- 
mained quite a good deal of the dye-stuff in 
the bottoms of the pails. The children 
looked at it thoughtfully; for it was en- 
tirely too interesting to throw away. “ITl 
tell you!” exclaimed Cheery, suddenly; 
“Let’s paint pictures, great big pictures, 
instead of just little ones in books ! 
Wouldn’t it be fun?” 

“Goody, goody!” cried the Chum. 
“Where’s the brushes?” 

“You go and ask Uncle Bob to lend us 
some,” said Cheery, “and I’ll get some big 
sheets of paper to paint on. Come on, 
hurry!” and away they ran with Winkie 
Baby at their heels. 

Cheery got back first, with the paper, 
and had spread two big sheets on the floor 
and set the paint pails between them ; when 
The Chum returned, trying the strong 
bristle brushes against the palm of his 
hand. “Uncle Rob gave me the biggest 
ones he had,” he said; “ ’cause I told him 
[ 56 ] 


Cheery and The 


Chum 


they were for big pictures; an’ my, but 
they ’re hard and scratchy ! ” 

Cheery started her pictui*e first by paint- 
ing a very large blue tree, and The Chum 
watched her, eagerly. “Why don’t you 
have a bii’d in your tree?” he asked, as she 
began to paint a big yellow sun beside it. 

“You can paint a bird in yours,” said 
Cheery, making the sun bigger and bigger, 
in an effort to make it round and smooth, 
instead of scallopy. 

So The Chum began, and painted first a 
fine large blue bird with a yellow top-knot, 
and then a red tree below him ; — at least, 
he said it was a bird and a tree; — and 
just then along came Winkie Baby and 
walked right across the red tree and stuck 
his nose into the yellow dye-pot. 

“ Oh, oh ! ” cried The Chum, waving his 
paint-brush wildly; “Get off of my picture, 
you bad Baby, — an’ take your nose out — ” 
and at that, Winkie Baby turned around 
and rubbed his nose right across the red 
paint-brush, — and then Cheery and The 

C 57 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


Chum burst out laughing; for his chin was 
all covered with yellow dye-stuif, and there 
was a big red spot right on the end of his 
nose, and he certainly was a very funny 
looking pig. 

Then Cheery had an idea. ‘‘Oh, I 
know! she cried. “Let^s dress him up in 
paint! You hold him.^^ 

And so The Chum put his arms about 
Winkie Baby and held him fast, and Cheery 
proceeded to clothe him in a fine coat of 
paint. First she put a yellow jacket on 
him, with red buttons down the front; and 
then a blue neck-tie. She scrubbed the 
dye-stuff in well, with the stiff brushes, so 
that not only was his thin white hair 
colored, but so was his pretty pink skin, as 
well. Then she painted big yellow rings 
around his eyes, for gold spectacles, — and 
then a blue moustache. And then she 
painted one ear red and one ear blue, and 
put a big blue paint bow on the top of his 
head; — -and then The Chum said that it 
was his turn. 


[ 58 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


So then Cheery held the Baby, and The 
Chum went to work. First he painted the 
curly tail in rings, blue on the end, and 
then red, and then yellow; and then he 
painted a beautiful big red rose on one side 
of him, and a lovely blue violet on the 
other side. One could tell that it was a 
rose and a violet, because one was red and 
the other was blue; — but of course you 
know that it would be very hard to paint 
on a wiggly pig, and make things look ex- 
actly as you wish them to. And then The 
Chum painted on some red and yellow 
striped stockings, and some blue shoes; 
and then — they let Winkie Baby go, and 
stood back to look at him, shouting with 
laughter. 

Winkie Baby didn’t seem to mind it in 
the least; but stood and blinked at them 
through his yellow spectacles, as much as 
to say; “Well, I’m glad if you’re having 
a good time; but I don’t know what it’s all 
about. Keep on laughing if you want to. 
It doesn’t bother me.” 

C 59 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


“Come on, let’s go and show him to 
Mrs. Cann!” cried The Chum, as soon as 
he could get his breath from laughing. 

“All right,” said Cheery, “only we must 
clear up here first,” and she was just be- 
ginning to gather up the papers and 
brushes, when they heard Mr. Cann’s voice, 
coming from near the pig-pen, just outside 
of the open door. 

“I have only three pigs of the size you 
want,” he was saying. “That is the best 
I can do.” 

“I wanted four,” said a strange voice. 
“What about the white one that I saw in 
the yard as I came through? ” 

“No,” said Mr. Cann. “The Children 
have raised that one by hand. I wouldn’t 
like to sell that.” 

“It’s just what I want,” said the other 
voice. 

“Still,” said Mr. Cann, thoughtfully; 
“the children are going away tomorrow, — 
and it has come to be rather troublesome 
about the place.” 


[ 60 ] 


Cheery 


and The Chum 


“Better let me have it,” said the other. 

“Well,” said Mr. Cann, slowly, “perhaps 
they wouldn’t miss it this afternoon and 
— ” and the two walked away, out of 
hearing. 

Cheery and The Chum stood looking at 
each other with big eyes. Could it be that 
Winkie Baby was to be taken away some- 
where, where no one would pet him or love 
him? The tears were very near, — and 
then, suddenly. Cheery’s face brightened. 
“Don’t you worry. Chum!” she exclaimed. 
“Winkie Baby will be taken care of, — 
come on, — we ’ll forget we heard it. I can 
beat you to the horse-trough!” and away 
they romped, Winkie Baby galloping after 
them. 

Just outside of the barn door they almost 
ran into Mr. Cann and a strange man. The 
two smiled as the children ran past them; 
— but when their eyes fell upon Winkie 
Baby dashing after them, in all the glory 
of striped tail, mismated ears and yellow 
jacket, they burst into a roar of laughter. 

[ 61 ] 


Cheery 


and The 


Chum 


“There’s your white pig?” said Mr. 
Cann, as soon as he could speak, pointing 
his linger after the Hying Baby. “Is that 
the sort of ])ork you’re looking for?” 

The man shook his head, ruefully. 
“Won’t it wash oil'?” he asked. 

“Indeed it won’t,” said Mr. Cann. 
“That’s dye-stuff. The genuine article, 
warranted not to fade. It’s what was left 
from my wife’s carpet-rags this morning; — 
and it’s scrubbed into his very skin, — 1 
could see tliat as he passed. Think you 
want him?” 

The man shook his head. “Nope!” he 
said. “If I hung that in front of my store, 
folks would think I kept a barber shop. I 
guess three pigs will have to be enough 
this time,” and the two men turned away. 

Half an hour afterward, Mrs. Cann came 
and kissed Cheery. “We came very near 
to losing WinkieBaby,” she said; “but his 
new clothes saved him.” 

And Cherry heaved a big, happy sigh, 
and ran to tell The Chum. 

[ 62 ] 


Cheery and The Chum 


***** 

And next morning, when they climbed 
into the carriage which was to take them 
to the station, Winkie Baby — yellow 
jacket, blue shoes, roses, violets and all — 
stood on the steps beside Mrs. Cann and 
grunted a cheerful farewell. 

‘‘WeVe had such a good, good time!^’ 
said Cheery, leaning out of the carriage for 
a last look around. 

‘‘ Yes,^^ said Uncle Rob, from the liorses’ 
heads; ‘'Some one has said ‘If you want 
to have a good time, — bring a good time 
with you;^ and you two certainly brought 
yours along this trip, and some to spare for 
the rest of us.’^ 

“We surely did,^^ said Cheery, happily; 
“andweh^e going to bring it with us again 
next year, aren^t we, Chum?^^ 

And The Chum, holding the mouse-cage 
tightly in his arms, nodded his head ap- 
provingly and echoed: “Surely, surely!” 
and away rattled the carriage down the 
hill. 


[ 63 ] 






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